Job share Y1 primary class teacher- impact on children

[Orangepink5]

Just after any thoughts from primary school teachers. My daughter is going into year one and will have two teachers- one for 3 days/week and the other for 2. Any thoughts from any teachers among you whether this is good or bad for the children? I’m worried about the lack of continuity and whether there ends up being one ‘main’ teacher and the other just fills in for the 2 days. Thoughts?

So it’s okay for you to work part-time and for your students, but not okay for your own child @Orangepink5

P.S. I think having children has made me a better teacher.

So it's ok for you to work part time but you don't want your children to have part time teachers?!

I'm a teacher with young children and I'm a much better teacher than I was before I had them! I'm more understanding of pressures on parents, I know what the trends are, I am much more confident in recognising what needs to be done and refuse to do more than I need to or want to! I give my all to actual teaching and what else I need to do in my role as part of SLT, I open the laptop after the kids are in bed but I do have a decent break in the hols! And two nights a week I do no school work!

I agree with that.

I disagree about year 1 being seen as not important- it's phonics screening year! Year 1 has the Ofsted gaze firmly on it 😬

Flexible working should be available to teachers (I work part time)

So are the pupils you teach getting a really crap deal with you, then?

This is frankly hilarious - what on earth would the school do if everyone wanted to move their child.

You are being extremely judgemental- I personally think that being a parent makes me a better teacher. Especially in primary as I recognise things that childless teachers may not.

Are you planning to scrutinise all your children’s teachers?? I really hope that you’re DD is able to get a better view of life through professionals that balance other commitments and manage to be professional whilst teaching than she clearly does from her narrow minded mother!

I've got 5 children and I'm very dedicated to my job role. I'm in a management position and when I'm at work I'm an employee, my kids are at nursery and school and being cared for elsewhere. I can certainly do my job.

I can imagine there’s pros and cons and great to hear most parents haven’t felt it’s caused any significant issues. As a working mother I think it’s great more professional jobs are being opened up on a job share/part time basis, for so many years people have had to either choose to give up their careers to achieve a decent work life balance or have to sacrifice everything for their career. It’s well known that many women work in jobs well below their skill and qualification level just to have something that fits in well around the kids, not about just the childcare but having that time to spend with kids and keep on top of running a house etc and even the odd day just to rest! It could be the deputy head really values those 2 days a week she still gets to teach and the other teacher with kids is a lot happier because she gets a good work life balance. Overall I think it’s a really positive trend especially for women but for society as a whole

@Backtothe90ties Are you planning to scrutinise all your children’s teachers??

I certainly am planning on scrutinising all her teachers. I would hope everyone does. I’ve worked with poor teachers that have only been identified due to parental input. It may be unpopular to voice this opinion but surely it’s only natural to want the best for your kids.

I remember a parent of a child in my DC’s class at primary school being livid that her son was getting a jobshare in Year 2-she had a total strop and demanded he was moved into the class with a full time teacher.

He was moved but that full-time teacher spent most of the Autumn term off with stress, so the class was taught by various different daily supply teachers. After Christmas, the full timer had left and the class was taught by a supply teacher 2 days a week and an HLTA the rest of the week.

No, my own children get a good deal, my students get less attention from me than they did in my pre kid days as I have more pressures on my time so am less likely to go the extra mile for my students. I do a perfectly good job, and students/parents would never notice but I know that I am dedicated less time to them than I used to. Just my own honest opinion.

It seems utterly pointless to give any headspace to this. This would be the case in many primary schools either because they have part time members of staff or staff with management responsibilities. If you moved to another school it could be the same this year or next.

Yes, thank you for this, it seems far more common than I thought. Sounds like many teachers are well practised in this and it should work well.

Have seen this work brilliantly for one of my kids a few years ago

Ds, who doesn't normally do change very well, and needs consistency, had a job share, and one of the job share left halfway through the year and someone else took her place.

I would have thought, knowing ds, that he would have handled it very badly. However it was absolutely brilliant for him. He had one Monday to Wednesday lunch time, TA Wednesday afternoon and the other teacher Thursday and Friday. It seemed to make the children freshen up on the Thursday, and be less end-of-week-ish by Friday.
He got on well with both teachers.

Best year of both of my kids educatjon to date was a jobshare. But my god they did it well. Two exceptional teachers. Tag teaming. Totally in synch. Totally get on. See both on parents evening. They could finish each other's sentences.

High energy, great communication. It felt seamless and i was quite sceptical going into it.

So id say it depends on many factors like how good the teachers are. How well they communicate. How experienced they are at jobsharing either together or with others.

There are other Jobsharing pairs at my kids school that also worked ok. Some better then others. But it also can be outstanding.

Both my DC had this set up in Y1 (the same 2 teachers) and it worked really well.

I think it's shocking to suggest a teacher with young children isn't as good as one without.

As a young newly qualified teacher I was childless for the first 5 years. I worked longer hours and spent more time planning, yes but that was because I didn't have the experience I now have. I had different demands on my time and my life - seeing friends, going to the pub. I wasn't always some bright eyed bushy tailed workaholic.

Post kids I actually understand children (and their parents and concerns) far better. I am far more experienced than before. Planning a maths lesson on shape for example will take me half the time as I've done it before and know exactly what works and what doesn't. I have honed and perfected my skills.

I work three days a week and for those 3 days I work, I work bloody hard and do a great job. I am EQUALLY as competent as a teacher without young children, more so in some regards.

As a job share I am not overworked and overwhelmed. I 'work' on my two days off, but I do so at my own pace, at home and am able to look after my kids too. If I worked full time I'd be working every evening and weekend and mentally that would be shit. I'd be unhappy, stressed and I wouldn't stick with it. I am a better teacher 3 days a week than I am full time. Arguably I'd say the same would be true for every teacher but I appreciate some have no choice.

I also agree with a PP about a difficult class having two teachers. This can often be helpful as you share the stress AND can bounce ideas off each other. It is so so draining to have 'that class's and be there day in day out without reprise, knowing that nextdoor is a very different picture. I agree that it often makes sense for these classes to be job shares.

Interestingly I'm a far better teacher now than I was before having my DD. I can't put my finger on why.

I'm in a job share. I work the two days at the end of the week.
It works well because we have very specific strengths.
I'm also a little stricter (or so I've heard) so Thursdays and Fridays they don't lose their heads like alot of classes do by the end of the week.
I guess Thursdays are a bit like Mondays again, a bit of a mid week reset!

My DD had this in reception for the first term. From
october until Christmas we had a right performance getting her in every morning. Full blown screaming and tears. After Christmas one teacher took the mantle full time and it was like a switch had been miraculously flipped. Never had another problem. I’ve never quite been able to establish if it was the chopping and changing or the departing teacher herself that was the issue.

Jeez, get some real problems you’re lucky it’s not a TA covering 😂.

Honestly.

Mine had this in reception, both teachers were wonderful and totally different. She liked them both and they were amazing at knowing everything, I wouldn't even worry :-)

You don't have a choice
What are you planning on doing about it if we all said it was bad ?

How do you expect the deputy head to fulfil her responsibilities if she was teaching a class five days a week?
it very common in lots of schools for leadership to teach some of the time but also have time out of class in order to plan, supervise, hold meetings etc so then the class has to be taught by someone else. This happens in most schools.
i understand you are seeking to look out for the best interests of your child and ensure they are well taught and happy. But please try to take a grown up view of how schools need to be run in the best interests of your child and all the others.